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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · cell · wax · track · bat · spring

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — of water
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — the season
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rest — a break
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rest — what's left
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com